Walsh Park - To Move or Not Move That Is the Question

The front page of this week’s Waterford News and Star makes interesting reading if you are a fan of Gaelic Games in Waterford.

Like Councillor Jason Murphy who spoke with Darren Skelton in the paper and again with Eamon Keane on his Déise Today programme on WLR.fm yesterday morning, I have long felt that it is time for the G.A.A. in Waterford to move out of Walsh Park and to put the for sale signs up outside the ground.

The ground is one which has never appealed to me in my forty plus years attending hurling and football games in the county.

I will accept that the ground has come on a great deal in the last two decades.

I am well able to remember the green hay shed structure that stood in the area which is now the centre of the stand at the ground.

I am well able to remember the old cement bench steps that ran along where the stand is now. It was many a time that I sat on the first row or two of them for games down the years, sitting on them as unlike many others watching games I was not able to stand on them owing to by disabilities, and had to go down near the front to ensure that no one stood directly in front of me while the game or games were taking place.

While the building of a stand and proper seating at the ground in the 1990’s was a welcome move, other development work at the ground was always going to be limited.

The capacity of the stand was never going to be huge because of the road that backs onto the back of it.

You are always going to be limited to what you could do on the bank at the Keane’s Road or Country end of the ground because of the road that runs behind it. On the bank side of the field you are again limited as to what you can do as it backs onto a row of houses on Griffith Place who would not want another stand built at the end of their back garden and you are also fairly limited as to what you can do behind the goal at the city end of the ground and also Ard na Greine is close by and would they want the shadow of a stand or terracing backing onto the people of the areas property.

Councillor Jason Murphy like many others within the county has suggested that the County Board should move its county ground to the WIT arena at Carriganore.

I have attended a number of games at this venue in the last number of years and have been mighty impressed with what I have seen there, but the ground is not suited to be the County Ground for Waterford.

First up and I stand to be corrected on this, the property is privately owned by the WIT. The ground is capable of hosting a number of sports including Gaelic Games for both men and women, soccer and rugby and it is also capable of hosting cross country athletic events.

If Waterford was to develop a new county ground away from Walsh Park, then I am almost certain that grants to do so could well be available from both the Munster and Central Council and maybe Lottery and other funding would also be available.

While the G.A.A. in recent years have voted to allow none GAA sports to take place in Croke Park, I for one cannot see the G.A.A. wanting to get involved in developing the WIT Arena as a County Ground for the Waterford County G.A.A. Board if the Association did not own the property which was to be developed. Would the G.A.A. want to develop facilities for other sports if there was nothing out of it for the G.A.A.

If Carriganore was to be developed as a county ground then it is almost certain that at least one playing field at the WIT Arena would be lost, as terracing or a stand would have to be built opposite the current stands on the main field as well as behind the goal furthest away from the dressing rooms.

Walsh Park other than for the developing of proper terracing or new stands around the ground is also not a good place to be.

I have often heard down the years people claim that they are good G.A.A. people who go to all the games, but when they are pressed they will admit that it is hurling games that the most will attend.

I consider myself to be a G.A.A. person. I am neither a hurling man nor a football man. To me both games are equal. So too is Handball and Scór, while I have to admit that I know little about Rounder’s which is also a G.A.A. Sport.

And anybody that knows me, Camogie and Ladies Football to me are important and are seen by me as being equal to their male equivalent games. Maybe even at times I regard the ladies games as more enjoyable to watch as the games are often played as they should be.

To me, the sooner the G.A.A. gets fully behind both Camogie and Ladies Football and promotes them as best as possible, the better.

In the late spring and throughout the summer Walsh Park is more than capable of staging a double header game. But this cannot be said throughout the year.

In the last few years during the National Hurling and Football Leagues, Waterford from time to time have had both sides down to play home games in the on afternoon. But the overwhelming majority of the time we have had to see both sides play at different grounds for the simple reason Walsh Park is not capable of holding a double header.

It has happened that maybe our men’s teams have had only one game at home on any given weekend, but we have had one of our Camogie teams down to play a home game the same afternoon.

Recently we had for example Waterford play Cork in the National Hurling League at Walsh Park, while the same afternoon the same two counties clashed in Camogie at the WIT Arena. Other counties can play double header games in the National League season, so why can’t we here in Waterford. The answer of course is that the surface at Walsh Park is not up to the required standard in the early or late months of the year.

If Walsh Park is not fitting its purpose and the WIT Arena is not a possible solution for different reasons, then where does that leave Waterford?

I for one when times were good if I was part of the decision making within Waterford G.A.A. would have argued that the For Sale signs should be put up on at Walsh Park. I have no doubt had it been done when times were good, a good price would have been agreed. We are told that the country has turned around in the last number of years, so maybe it’s not too late to put up the signs and a good price could be got in the near future.

While the G.A.A. has tended to have its major grounds in areas where the population is biggest, it does not always have to be this way.

Tipperary for obvious reasons has its county ground in Thurles which may not be the biggest population centre in the Premier County. And while Tipperary does not have their county ground in the centre of the biggest population, neither do possibly Wexford and Kildare. I am sure that Gorey has a bigger population than Wexford Town and Naas I am sure has a bigger population than Newbridge. So is there a reason why Waterford has its County Ground in an area where the biggest population is.

Ideally, a venue would be in the centre of the county would be best suited, somewhere close to Lemybrien or Kilmacthomas. There are plenty of Greenfield sites in this area that could well be developed. This area would be well suited with public transport passing through the area. But one downfall would be venues that people could gather before and after games, a choice of pubs and cafés and restaurants etc. but maybe as the Greenway that passes through the area grows this is something that could be put to right.

Dungarvan would possibly be the best location as it is served with a good bus service from both Cork and Waterford and it is also relatively close to the County Tipperary border, while the Limerick border coming through Mitchelstown and onto Fermoy or over The Vee and into Lismore or Cappoquin would also not be too far away.

I am only too well aware that suggesting that a county ground in Dungarvan is stirring up the East-West divide that sadly exists in Waterford. I think it is well known that I would favour the abolishing of the Western and Eastern Divisional Boards. I was one of the delegates back in 1996 that voted in favour of an All County under 14 hurling Championship and would have hoped that all competitions in the county would have gone that way since then.

Dungarvan is pretty much in the centre in the county. A person could come from Waterford city to Dungarvan often much quicker than you would travel from areas of Ballyduff Upper, Tallow or the Nire Valley into Dungarvan.

The infrastructure in and around Dungarvan is relatively good. If the playing surface at Fraher Field was turned 90 degrees two new sizeable stands could be built at the ground as well as safe terracing at either end of a new look playing pitch. Within the town area there is some sizeable car parking spaces for cars, all within walking distance of the town.

Fraher Field is also a ground with a history, one that those in G.A.A. Headquarters in Dublin should not forget about. Fraher Field as we know it now has played to the most Senior All-Ireland Finals outside of Croke Park, even ahead of Semple Stadium in Thurles. Dan Fraher who the field is named also played an important role in the purchase of land on Jones’ Road in Dublin early in the last century and is a man that the G.A.A. should never be left forgotten about.

Ok, Fraher Field as a County Ground in Waterford might have some downfalls as well. Parking is often a problem, but nowhere near as much as in Waterford. If the G.A.A. were to purchase the land between the Mart and the corner of the road leading to the current car park and to develop the area as a car park it could take many of the cars that would travel to the venue. Maybe the owners of the Mart could also help out by opening their premises on match days.

Waterford is in need of a top quality county ground. At present for many reason’s Walsh Park is not the answer and many will agree with this. Where there would be most divide is to where the County Ground should be located. There could be plenty of options, but in the eyes of yours truly, developing Fraher Field properly is the best option.

Abbeyside and Tallow Go To the Wire at Fraher Field

How many times have we heard a think is over till the Fat Lady Sings, or till the Final Whistle is blown. How many times have we told those taking part in any sort of competition to never give up till the event is over.

All these sayings proved true on Sunday evening at Fraher Field in the last game in the second round of games in this year’s County Senior Hurling Championship.

Tallow and Abbeyside were the sides in opposition. For both sides a win for a must as both sides failed to impress in the first round of games where Tallow lost out to Ballygunner and Abbeyside lost out in a local derby game against Dungarvan.

Early in the game it looked as if the side from the far west of the county were going to be on the wrong end of another big defeat as despite scoring first inside the first minute of the game through Ian Beecher with the first attack of the game, Tallow had to give second best to what looked an impressive Abbeyside outfit as they shot six points in a row, Richie Foley cancelling out Ian Beecher’s effort straight away, which was followed with a brace of points from Patrick Hurney and one each from a Mark Ferncombe free, Michael O’Halloran and John Elstead with just eight minutes played.

Former inter county hurler Paul O’Brien pulled a point back for Tallow and on nine minutes they were very unlucky not to have got even closer to their opponents as Thomas Ryan attacked the Country Goal and shot narrowly wide on the far post when it looked like he was going to rattle the net.

A brace of frees converted by Mark Ferncombe by the eleventh minute meant that Abbeyside had brought their tally to eight points, the same tally that they registered against Dungarvan a week earlier.

And when Tallow latched on the next three scores by the fourteen minute, a brilliant score from Jordan Henley and a brace of Thomas Ryan frees it meant that they too managed to equal the tally they registered against Ballygunner a week earlier.

If Thomas Ryan had been unlucky not to have rattled the net at one end of the field in the first quarter then so too was Michael O’Halloran at the end of the same quarter , but credit must go to Tallow goalkeeper Shaun O’Sullivan for keeping the sliotar from entering his net with an excellent save.

Tallow received what looked to be a blow on eighteen minutes when they lost Paul O’Brien through injury. Two minutes later Thomas Ryan put over a free to leave it a two point game and five minutes on Jake Neville who came on for the injured Paul O’Brien got his name on the scoresheet leaving just one between the sides.

Four minutes from the break Thomas Ryan put over a massive score from the middle of the field near the sideline to level matters for the second time in the game.

Thomas Ryan and Mark Ferncombe both of whom were razor sharp with their shooting from frees exchanged scores to keep the sides level with two minutes remaining of the first half and the same two players in reverse order repeated the act either side of the half hour mark in this game, meaning that the two sides went to the dressing rooms locked at ten points each.

Neil Montgomery opened the second half scoring for Abbeyside within seconds of the restart only for Thomas Ryan to cancel the score out seven minutes later when he put over a massive free playing into the town goal from about 50 metres from his own goal.

Mark Ferncombe and Thomas Ryan swapped the only other scores in the third quarter which locked the sides at 12 points each with fifteen minutes still to play in game that was beginning to look as if it would go right to the wire.

Mark Ferncombe from a free and Tommy Daly swapped points, after which Thomas Ryan again split the Abbeyside posts. Neil Montgomery levelled matters once more before Thomas Ryan again found the range for the Bride-siders.

Richie Foley from a free drew the sides level before Mark Ferncombe edged Abbeyside back in front once more with six minutes remaining.

At this stage few would have argued that a draw would be the fairest result all round, and had this happened it would have made the three remaining games for both sides very interesting.

Both sides have De La Salle to play and going on current form the City side should win that game. Tallow have Dungarvan to play and Abbeyside have Ballygunner to play, and again it’s hard to see either of these two sides win these games meaning that the game against Ballyduff Upper for the respective sides was going to be very important.

Going on what happened in Round One, Ballyduff would fancy their chances of getting something from those games and if they did, then you could have the situation where both of the two sides involved in this game could end on one point each from a possible twelve and if that was to happen, then every score recorded in the rest of the competition was going to be absolute vital.

Thomas Ryan levelled matters at sixteen points each and with a minute to go in normal time Mark Ferncombe edged Abbeyside back in front from a free only for Thomas Ryan to draw the sides level once more from another free on the hour mark.

Four added minutes were indicated to be added at the end of the hour for stoppages and in the first of these Ian Beecher, the player that hit the first score of the game gave Tallow the lead with his second of the game.

There was some short stoppages in added time and in the fourth of the added minutes Neil Montgomery drew the sides level at eighteen points each.

Many expected the final whistle to be blown soon after the restart but there was still time to be played on referee Nicholas O’Toole’s watch, the only one that mattered inside the ground even if the clock on the scoreboard showed that the four minutes were up.

In the fifth added minute Neil Montgomery hit his fourth score of the game and most important of this game as it gave his side a 0-19 to 0-18 lead.

Time remained to be played after this score but not enough for Tallow to tag on another score to get at worst a share of the spoils in this game. Early in the game many would have felt that they were going to witness a one sided game but leaving the ground just after quarter past eight, few could have complained that they had not witnessed a very competitive game between two evenly matched sides.

Abbeyside: Stephen Enright; Brian Looby, Sean O’Hare, Darragh McGrath; Maurice Power, James Mahony, Evan Collins; Richie Foley, John Elstead; Neil Montgomery, Mark Ferncombe, David Collins; Sean Daly, Patrick Hurney, Michael O’Halloran. Subs: Shane Crotty for Sean Daly (40), Eoin Kiely for David Collins (54).

Scorers: Mark Ferncombe 0-9 (7F), Neil Montgomery 0-4, Richie Foley (1F), Patrick Hurney 0-2 each, Michael O’Halloran, John Elstead 0-1 each.

Tallow: Shaun O’Sullivan; Robbie Geary, David O’Brien, Jake Beecher; Kieran Geary, Mark O’Brien, Robbie Beecher; Tommy Daly, Jordan Henley; Ian Beecher, Bob McCarthy, Thomas Ryan; Paul O’Brien, Evan Sheehan, Darragh Buckley. Subs: Jake Neville for Paul O’Brien (18), Darragh Mulcahy for Darragh Buckley (43), Robert O’Sullivan for Tommy Daly (63).

Scorers: Thomas Ryan 0-12 (11f), Ian Beecher 0-2, Paul O’Brien, Jordan Henley, Jake Neville, Tommy Daly 0-1 each.

Referee: Nicholas O’Toole (Naomh Pól)

Outstanding Shane Ryan Helps De La Salle to Second Win in Senior Hurling Championship against Dungarvan

I have heard people say to understand hurling you have to have played it at any level.

As I was born physically disabled almost 44 years ago it has meant that I have never played hurling with the exception of standing in goals pucking around with my brothers at home or with others that I was with in primary school.

If it is true that you have to have played the game to a certain standard, then I must sit down sometime with a modern coach and get them to explain the game to me.

There is two things that really bug me about the modern game. One is the withdrawing of a forward or even forwards to play in their own half of the field to play as extra defenders or sweepers call the system what you like. What you are doing when this happen is robbing Peter to pay Paul. When the ball goes into the opposition half of the field the forwards you have in that side of the field have to work extra hard to get the ball, as the opposition automatically has a numerical advantage whether they play the sweeper or extra man system or not.

The second thing that bugs me is the short puck out. For the life of me I can’t understand it. When I see the short puck out, the amount of times I have seen the passage of play break down is alarming. And when this happens, regardless of who is playing I love to see that team punished, and often they are. I really can’t understand when a goalkeeper has the ball in his hand why he don’t put the opposition under pressure straight away by putting the ball down on top of the heads of his half forward line or if the goalkeeper has a lengthy puck of the ball to put it over the heads of his half forward’s onto an inside forward line coming out who quickly turn their opponents who hopefully is coming with him and put the ball either over or under the opponents crossbar. I am a firm believer in the old saying that the shortest distance between A and B is in a straight line.

There might be some that will thing what is to be said here is a personal attack. The opposite is in fact the truth. What this piece in addition to the game mentioned here is about the system.

A sizeable attendance paying over €2,000, were in Fraher Field on Friday evening to see the first of this year’s County Senior Hurling Championship Round Two games.

Early in the game it looked as if these two sides who are most likely challenge Ballygunner for the News and Star Cup were going to fight out a close battle, one that could well go right to the wire, but as the game went on it was obvious that there was only going to be one outcome to the game and the only question to be answered is by what margin would De La Salle win the game.

Shane McNulty and Cormac Curran opened the scoring in this game with a converted free each from some distance.

The games for goal came on five minutes when Darragh Lyons was caught out overplaying the ball close to his own goal and when it was worked quickly to John Mullane, the former inter county hurler made no mistake in blasting past Darren Duggan.

Gavin Crotty straight away pulled a point back for Dungarvan before Shane Ryan who put in a Man of the Match performance in this game hit the first of his dozen scores in this game on eight minutes.

A minute later Darragh Lyons made up for his mistake four minutes earlier when he scored a brilliant solo goal, attacking the town goal from the back side of the field giving Shaun O’Brien no chance with a well drilled shot.

Dylan Foley edged the city side back in front on 13 minutes and second later they were unlucky not to have gone further in front as Shane Ryan saw a brilliant effort come crashing off the Dungarvan crossbar.

Patrick Curran levelled matters once more on the quarter of an hour mark and seconds later the Old Boro Club took the lead for the only time when Cormac Curran put over the head of Shaun O’Brien.

Points from Shane Ryan and a long range free from Shane McNulty put De La Salle back in front before Stephen Daniels made it a two point game with a brilliant point from under the shadow of the stand.

John Mullane pointed for De La Salle on twenty minutes and from the resulting puck out which was taken short, the Dungarvan defence fumbled and Eoin Madigan was on hand to take control and picked out Shane Ryan who finished to the net to give his side a 2-7 to 1-4 lead.

Points from Shane Ryan, John Mullane and Eoin Madigan quickly followed for De La Salle to put them in cruise control before Cormac Curran and Ryan Donnelly pulled back points for Dungarvan.

But it was De La Salle who would score next as Jack Fagan played in Shane Ryan and the impressive forward made no mistake in stretching his hurley outwards and finishing past the Dungarvan defence to give the city side a 3-10 to 1-6 lead.

Dungarvan to their credit never gave up and they landed three scores in added time at the end of the opening thirty minutes when Cormac Curran put over a hat-trick of frees to leave then trailing 3-10 to 1-9 at the break.

Shane Ryan and Darragh Lyons began the second half with an early exchange of points, before Shane Ryan put over two more placed balls including an impressively struck sideline cut from a very tight angle on thirty nine minutes which gave his side a 3-13 to 1-10 lead.

Cormac Curran pulled a point back for Dungarvan before De La Salle struck a brilliant fourth goal on forty one minutes when Eoin Madigan blasted at Darren Duggan who did brilliant to save the De La Salle man’s effort but the power that was behind the shot was enough to see it cross the line giving his side a 4-13 to 1-11 lead.

Colm Curran, Jake Dillon who came on for Tom Moran at the break, Colm Curran (again) and Eoin Madigan all scored by the midway point in the second half, the latter coming as a result of yet another of a short puck out that De La Salle managed to break down.

Cathal Curran and Shane Ryan swapped scores before Michael Kiely broke up the bank side of the field towards the country goal twice in a minute to put over a brace of well taken points which left the Old Boro outfit trailing 4-16 to 1-17 with five minutes plus stoppage time to play.

Shane Ryan and Adam Farrell cancelled out the efforts of the former Sliabh gCua/Saint Mary’s club player to keep ten between the sides with three minutes plus to play.

Shane Ryan extended the De La Salle lead before Aaron Donnelly drew a good save from Shaun O’Brien with the game just gone into stoppage time.

Another Shane Ryan point on sixty two minutes made it a twelve point game, one for which the city side were full value for, but Dungarvan showed lots of hunger late on in the game and moments after Shane Ryan had split the posts at the other end, Colm Curran from close range rattled the De La Salle net for the second time.

And Dungarvan were not finished yet as they won the restart and again quickly played the ball in around the De La Salle goalmouth and when it came to Patrick Curran he showed that he is equally as good a footballer as he is at hurling as he kicked to the net to leave six between the teams.

This proved to be the final attack of the game as before De La Salle could restart Referee Anthony Fitzgerald who is must be said had an outstanding performance on the night indicated that time was up and called on Shaun O’Brien to play the ball to him as he blew the full time whistle.

De La Salle will take two wins from two games in this year’s senior hurling championship. Dungarvan will not be too put out with the defeat as they know that they should have it within them in their three remaining games to get enough points to secure one of the quarter final sports in Group One, but will also know that they don’t want to drop to many more points as they don’t want to be given what is often perceived to be a tough quarter finals against one of the stronger teams in Group Two, something that could well happen as they have a very good Ballygunner side still to play.

De La Salle: Shaun O’Brien, Paddy Kenneally, Ian Flynn, Stephen Dalton; Shane McNulty, Kevin Moran, Stephen Daniels; Eddie Barrett, Tom Moran; Jack Fagan, Dylan Foley, David Greene; Shane Ryan, Eoin Madigan, John Mullane. Subs: Jake Dillon for Tom Moran (HT), Adam Farrell for David Greene (47), Eddie Meaney for John Mullane (47), Tom Moran for Eoin Madigan (58).

Scorers: Shane Ryan 2-10 (0-5f, 0-1 SL), John Mullane, Eoin Madigan 1-2 each, Shane McNulty 0-2 (2f), Dylan Foley, Stephen Daniels, Jake Dillon, Adam Farrell 0-1 each.

Dungarvan: Darren Duggan; Aaron Donnelly, Conor Sheridan, Luke Egan; Kieran Power, Jamie Nagle, Michael Kiely; Cathal Curran, Darragh Lyons; Gavin Crotty, Colm Curran, Liam Ryan; Ryan Donnelly, Cormac Curran, Patrick Curran. Subs: John Curran for Conor Sheridan (16), Jack Lacey for Liam Ryan, Sean Crotty for Gavin Crotty.

Scorers:  Cormac Curran 0-8 (7f), Colm Curran 1-2, Patrick Curran, Darragh Lyons 1-1 each, Michael Kiely 0-2, Cathal Curran, Gavin Crotty, Ryan Donnelly 0-1 each.

Referee: Anthony Fitzgerald (Passage).

Dan Is Still the Man

19 years ago I made my first and only ever visit to Tralee.

The reason for my visit through North Cork and into the Kingdom was like many others to support the Waterford Senior Hurlers in the Munster Championship opener against Kerry.

On the day I sat at the country end of the stand between the 45 and 65 metre lines, getting a good seat as a result of getting to the ground in plenty of time.

On the day if the game was played over 60 minutes, Waterford could well have found themselves in a spot of trouble, as the home side put it up to the visitors who travelled to the game with plenty of confidence, despite a loss to a good Cork side in the League Final a few weeks before the game. But the visitors in the extra ten minutes that is not played in Club games put it up to the hosts and eventually won the game, moving onto a Munster Semi Final.

On of Waterford’s stars that day was a big young man from Lismore – Dan Shanahan.

Dan the Man as he was known to many had come through different underage teams and now was getting to play on the big stage, with bigger games still to come.

Nine years later, under the guidance of Justin McCarthy, Dan Shanahan was a household name, known in every hurling public and private house in the country. He had helped Waterford under the guidance of the Cork man to win three Munster Final’s, that finished as runners up in two other finals, one of which was under the guidance of Gerald McCarthy back in 1998 when Waterford lost out to Clare after a replay in Thurles. He had helped Waterford win the 2007 National League and to reach another final a few years earlier against Galway in Limerick, a ground that has not proven to be a happy hunting ground over the years for the side in white and blue.

It was at the end of that same year that the Lismore man was named in the All-Star team of the year and it was not surprise that he was also named as Hurler of the Year, becoming only the second Waterford man after Tony Browne to win the award. Many still believe that had Waterford got their All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick put back a week after two titanic battles with Cork in the quarter finals, then Waterford’s long wait to bring the Liam McCarthy Cup across Rice Bridge would have come to an end by now. However I guess many of us Waterford supporters forget that in that same year Limerick were also out three weeks in a row before they got past Tipperary in the Munster Championship, so what was good for the goose was possibly good for the gander.

Still key to Waterford in 2010, Big Dan was sprung from the subs bench by Davy Fitzgerald to play extra time for John Mullane in the Munster Final replay against Cork and the Big Man as he had done many times he had played the Rebels in the past banged an all important goal for Waterford as they won a fourth Munster Final since 2002, one that went down in history as the first replay to having taken place on a Saturday evening under the lights of Semple Stadium, the venue where all Munster Hurling Finals should be played in the eyes of yours truly.

While Dan has long hung up his inter county hurley, in games anyway and has got involved in the management side of things, working in Derek McGrath’s management team, on the club scene it is business as usual for Big Dan.

Many wondered had we seen the last of Dan Shanahan at the end of the 2016 campaign, when he helped Lismore win a West Waterford Intermediate Title, a County Intermediate Title and a Munster Intermediate Title and narrowly lost out in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. If he had called time on his playing career after the game few would have been surprised as every hurling lover would have known that he had given it all to both club and county down the years. And every player likes to go out on a high and to go out after winning three titles in a few short weeks with the club, there is hardly a better way he could have bowed out.

But when you love something as much as Dan loves his hurling, it’s hard to give it up and you want to keep going as long as possible.

On Saturday evening last Dan showed he was still ‘The Man’ as he bagged 4-1 out of his sides 6-13 against Passage in the first round of this year’s County Senior Hurling Championship. Not to be outdone, younger brother Maurice also had an impressive evening in Fraher Field scoring 2-8.

At half time Lismore looked dead and buried, and some obituaries were about to be penned. No Doubt those that felt that Big Dan should not have played this year were saying to themselves “I told you so”.

Trailing 3-13 to 1-3, Lismore and the Shanahan Brothers turned on the style in the second thirty minutes.

Dan had got the first of his goals on the quarter of an hour mark when he was in the right place to smash past Eddie Lynch after Peter O’Keeffe batted a high delivery to the lurking Full Forward.

His second goal happed to be his sides third on 33 minutes. Maurice had lobbed Eddie Lynch moments earlier to give his side some hope with the second half just over two minutes old.

It’s no state secret that I am no fan of the short puck out that has crept into the game in recent years and when I see it, regardless of who is playing I like to see them punished. Lismore’s third goal was a result of one of those short puck outs, as Maurice Shanahan intercepted the sliotar and played it to his older brother who made no mistake.

Just before the midway point of the second half, Dan completed his hat-trick when he caught a high delivery from Jack Prendergast to leave his side trailing 3-14 to 4-8.

Six minutes from time he completed his second half hat-trick and registered his fourth of the game when he finished a delivery from Kenny Moore who is throwing his lot in the Cathedral Town Club this year after transferring from Dungarvan, to the net.

Lismore won the game 6-13 to 3-19, totally blowing last year’s Championship Runners-Up apart in the second half, with Big Dan proving that he still is the man.

Tipperary Might Be Favourites, But Expect Waterford Camogie Stars To Push Them All The Way.

The league is over. The All-Ireland Championship, the one that all the best teams want to win is some weeks off, but this Saturday afternoon Waterford’s Senior Camogie team are in Munster Championship action when they take on Tipperary at the WIT Arena in Carriganore with the game having a 2-30pm throw in.

The Munster Championship may well come after the All-Ireland Championship and the League in the pecking order for those that take part but it is still a competition that Waterford as well as the other sides taking part would still love to win.

For Waterford the side competed in the top flight of the league for the second year in a row, and while Waterford won just the one game, away to Dublin, it was still a very successful league, as they were in a very strong group alongside side Wexford, Cork and Kilkenny who have all won the O’Duffy Cup in recent years.

Waterford also played this Saturday’s opponents Tipperary in their final league game of the competition at the Ragg outside Thurles a game a strong home side won 1-18 to 0-9.

On that day, the home side won the toss and opted to play with the wind at their backs in the opening thirty minutes and turned around leading 1-9 to 4 points, with the goal coming from the very impressive Cait Devane, as Beth Carton hit three of her sides scores and Becky Kavanagh hitting Waterford’s other score.  

While neither Tipperary or Waterford had anything big to play for on that day as both could not reach the knockout stages of the competition, there is in fact something to play for this time around, as the winners on Saturday will play Limerick in the Munster Semi Finals with Cork playing Clare in the other semi-final.

A good run for any side in the Munster Championship could well see that side go into the All-Ireland Championship on somewhat a high. While the side will be training hard between now and then, and possibly playing a number of challenge games as well as that the players will be playing with their sides in the County League, nothing beats playing in ultra-competitive games which the Munster Championship offers.

Tipperary fared better than Waterford in the National League as they recorded three wins, beating Dublin and Wexford in addition to beating Waterford, but lost out to strong Cork and Kilkenny sides.

Tipperary will travel to the Carriganore venue as the clearest of favourites after their recent league victory over Waterford at The Ragg.

But Tipperary will also be travelling to Waterford expecting a very stern challenge from the home side, who hopefully will not be left wanting for support.

As in hurling, the Munster Camogie Championship is the most competitive and Waterford won’t want to go out after the first hurdle, and will see the competition as a major opportunity to stepping up preparations for the All-Ireland Championship which starts in June.

Tipperary might well travel to the WIT Arena as the favourites to advance to the semi-finals, but this is a good Waterford panel, one that is more than capable of pushing sides very hard. They did this for thirty minutes against Cork but in the second half against a very strong wind they found the going tough, and they pushed Kilkenny all the way again at the WIT Arena.

Waterford Panel: Tracey Kiely (Cappoquin), Áine Power (Piltown), Emma Hannon-Roche (Gailltir), Claire Whyte (Saint Anne’s), Aoife Landers (An Gaeltacht), Shona Kiernan (Lismore), Mairead Power (Piltown), Fiona Morrissey (An Gaeltacht), Lorraine Bray (Cappoquin), Niamh Rockett (Saint Annes), Iona Heffernan (Ferrybank), Kate McMahon (Butlerstown), Caithriona McGlone (Lismore), Beth Carton (De La Salle), Valerie O’Brien (De La Salle), Annie Glavey (Gailltir), Niamh Ahearne (Ferrybank), Jenny McCarthy (Cappoquin), Marie Russell (Lismore), Becky Kavanagh (Saint Anne’s), Sibeal Harney (Saint Anne’s), Ciara Twomey (De La Salle), Niamh Murphy (De La Salle), Ciara Jackman (Gailltir), Kate Lynch (Gailltir), Kaeisha Tobin (Dungarvan), Laura Murray (Cappoquin), Sadie Mai Roe (Butlerstown).

TIPPERARY PANEL: Andrea Loughnane (Thurles Sarsfields), Anne Eviston (Drom & Inch), Aoife McGrath (Drom & Inch), Aoife Moloughney (Shannon Rovers), Bernie Larkin (Shannon Rovers), Cait Devane (Clonoulty-Rossmore), Caoimhe Bourke (Drom & Inch), Caoimhe Maher (Burgess-Duharra), Carol Casey (Cahir), Caroline Mullaney (Newport-Ballinahinch), Ciannait Walsh (Éire Óg Annacarty), Ciardha Maher (Burgess-Duharra), Clodagh Quirke (Clonoulty-Rossmore), Eimear Loughman (Clonoulty-Rossmore), Ereena Fryday (Clonoulty-Rossmore), Gemma Grace (Burgess-Duharra), Grace O’Brien (Nenagh Éire Óg), Jenny Grace (Burgess-Duharra), Jenny Logue (Tullaroan, Kilkenny), Julieann Bourke (Borrisoleigh), Karen Fox (Éire Óg Annacarty), Keely Lenihan (Newport-Ballinahinch), Laura Loughnane (Thurles Sarsfields), Lisa Cahill (Kilruane MacDonagh’s), Lorna O’Dwyer (Holycross-Ballycahill), Mairéad Eviston (Drom & Inch), Mairéad Teehan (Moneygall), Mary Ryan (Moneygall), Megan Ryan (St Cronan’s), Micheala Graham (Moycarkey-Borris), Miriam Campion (Drom & Inch), Niamh Treacy (Drom & Inch), Nicole Walsh (Borrisoleigh), Orla McEniry (Cahir), Orla O’Dwyer (Cashel), Róisín Cahill (Kilruane MacDonagh’s), Róisín Howard (Cahir), Shauna Quirke (Éire Óg Annacarty), Teresa Ryan (Borrisoleigh), Sarah Fryday (Clonoulty-Rossmore), Sinéad Buckley (Éire Óg Annacarty).

Who if anyone can beat Ballygunner in Senior Hurling Championship

It’s the weekend that hurling lovers in Waterford are looking forward to, the weekend where the first round of the County Senior Hurling Championship takes place.

In the last number of years, the first round of the senior hurling championship had to be deferred, leading to complications for some as it clashed with the semi-finals of the National Hurling League semi-finals, but with Waterford narrowly losing out to Galway recently in the quarter final clash between the two in Galway, it’s all system go on the club scene this year.

The question on the lips of many this year is can anybody stop Ballygunner, and if the Gunners can be stopped, who will it be that denies them what would be a first ever first ever four in a row of titles, becoming the first club since the great Mount Sion team of the 50’s and 60’s to win the title, when they won no fewer than nine in a row.

They begin this year with a clash against Tallow this year.

The two clubs in recent years have met in recent years, with results going in the way of the current holders of the News and Star Cup.

The most recent big meeting of the two was in the 2015 County Final when the Gunners came out on top a Walsh Park, the second time they have done so in recent years when they sides clashed at the same stage of the competition at the same venue in recent years.

The Champions are under new management this year, with former Ballygunner and Waterford great Fergal Hartley again taking over the reins.

The champions will once again prove to be a tough side to beat this year and the side that knocks them out of the competition will be the side most likely to win.

They have class right throughout their team. Barry Coughlan is set to miss this game as a result of the injury he picked up in the recent win over Clare in the league, but the good news for them is that Philip Mahony who missed the league for Waterford is reported to be back fit and healthy and is set to start in the team.

His inclusion for the champions would be a massive bonus, and when you consider that they have the likes of his brother Pauric, younger brother Michael could well feature as well this year, the O’Sullivan’s, Stephen O’Keeffe etc. it’s hard to see them loose this one.

But they and many others will know that on their day Tallow are a hard side to beat.

They too are under new management this year with Johnny Geary having taken over the team.

They have made a decision to regrade a number of their players this year such as Aidan Kearney, James Murray and William Henley and it waits to be seen how long they can go without recalling them to the senior team.

The O’Brien’s are going to be vital to their hopes, as will Thomas Ryan who has put in a number of going showing’s with Derek McGrath’s Waterford side of late. Youth could well be given its chance to impress on Bride-side this year in the likes of Jordan Henley, Ryan Grey and Darragh Buckley but it’s hard to see them get anything from this game, meaning that they will be playing catch-up for the rest of the campaign.

Passage last year finished as Runners up and will be looking to go one step further again this year. They too have made changes in their management team with Peter Queally moving on after serving for a number of years guiding them to a first ever (and only) County Senior Hurling Championship in 2013.

John Treacy who was involved with the Waterford Minor Team that won the 2013 All-Ireland Final has taken over the team and it will be interesting to see how he gets on. One this is for sure, he will not be wanting in experience.

They have a number of brilliant players within their team like Eddie Lynch, the Connors’, Pa Walsh, Eoin Kelly and Killian Fitzgerald who will be looking to add to the honours that they have already won with the club.

They come up against a Lismore side that played in the Intermediate grade last year. To many it came as a shock that it was Lismore and De La Salle that contested a relegation play off in 2015, with the western side losing out.

They regrouped last year well in the intermediate grade and it will be interesting to see how they get on this year.

They will be delighted that Dan Shanahan has committed to wearing the Black and Yellow shirt once more again in 2017 after a brilliant year for them last year, helping them to Divisional, County and Munster Intermediate titles.

If Dan Shanahan is going to be key to Lismore’s hopes, words to find the value of younger brother would be hard to find. Another key player will be Kenny Moore who has transferred from Dungarvan.

Another player that will be key to them is young Jack Prendergast. With a Prendergast name from Lismore and also having Daly (remember The Growler) blood, this young lad has to have hurling in him. He was very impressive last year in the Intermediate grade and will be looking to show his talent now in a higher grade.

Expect this game to go to the wire, with a possible shoot-out between cousins Eoin Kelly on one side and the Shanahan’s on the other. Passage however get the nod to win in what could well be a close game.

The two semi-finalist last year will be looking to go one step further this year, and on paper you have to think that they can do so.

Like so many other teams this year (only Fourmilewater and Lismore have not changed managers) Dungarvan are under new management this year with former club great Derek Lyons taking over the team.

He had tasted success with the Old Boro Club on the underage scene and also has had success with different inter county underage teams and will not be looking to transfer this success to the next level.

There is plenty of ability available to Derek Lyons. While they might have not shown the promise they showed in 2012 when they won a place in the County Final losing out to De La Salle, but maybe 2017 might just be the year. In the Curran Brothers, Gavin Crotty, Kieran Power, Darren Duggan, Michael Kiely and Mick Devine they have some good players within their ranks.

Abbeyside too are a side that that have plenty of experience within their team. What has gone against them in a way in recent years is that they have had different managers for hurling and football, but Jimmy Healy is looking after both sides this year so should be able to juggle things the way Benjie Whelan does with Fourmilewater and The Nire.

What might make this game interesting is that Jimmy Healy has crossed the Causeway this year when it comes to hurling and football having being involved with Dungarvan in recent years.

He will be looking to the likes of Conor Prunty, Neil Mountgomery, Richie Foley, Patrick Hurney, the Collins’ brothers, Mark Ferncombe etc. they have more than enough to match their neighbours from across the harbour.

I must admit that prior to reading this week’s Dungarvan Leader, I had forgotten the fact that Dungarvan are without the services of Patrick Curran for this game due to suspension carried over from last year. His loss will be a big one to The Old Boro Club, but they nor Abbeyside will need any motivation for this game and players on both sides won’t mind who is present or missing too much as the fifteen players selected on both sides will be giving it their all.

Expect this game to go to the wire, with Dungarvan maybe winning by a very small margin.

Mount Sion may not be as strong a side as they once were, but they are still Mount Sion and will always be challenging for the title each year.

Ken McGrath who has managed the side in recent years takes a back seat this year and is replaced by Nicholas Mackey.

Austin Gleeson is going to be their most vital player, but the question remains where he will play, in defence or in attack. A personal view is that he is a far better defender than he is attacker.

However they will want more than Ossie to be his best this year. Ian O’Regan will be between the posts. He has shown time and time again this year that he is a quality goalkeeper and if he was regarded as Waterford’s number one when the Munster Championship begins it would hardly be a surprise.

They too have players like Stephen Roche who again has impressed for Waterford of late, Owen Whelan, Aaron Coady, Martin and Stephen O’Neill as well as Mickey Daykin and Donal Power within their ranks.

Their first game of the year for the second year in a row is against Fourmilewater.

For a number of years now the Ballymacarbry based club tends to always be the Bridesmaid but never the Bride.

In Benjie Whelan they have an excellent manager who does a good job of juggling being a duel senior club.

He has at his disposal some of the finest players within the county.

Jamie Barron is going to be their most crucial player, but he has missed the last few Waterford games due to an injury and it remains to be seen what involvement he has in this game.

But even without him they still have plenty of class in their team able to call on the likes of Conor Gleeson, Dermot Ryan as well as former inter county hurlers Shane Walsh and Liam Lawlor.

Again expect this game to go to the wire. Last year Fourmilewater won the game by a small margin and if they can include Jamie Barron in their team for the full sixty minutes they will feel that they can record another win here, but if he is missing Mount Sion get the nod.

Most pundits are expecting Portlaw and Ballyduff Upper to finish bottom of their respective groups this year, with many expecting the mid county side to drop back down to the Intermediate grade after a two year stint in the senior grade.

It is hard to see either club get their campaign off to a winning start this weekend.

Portlaw did well last year to retain their senior status, beating Cappoquin in the play-off final at Walsh Park.

Andrew Kirwan is over Portlaw this year, taking over from Niall O’Donnell.

They have being putting in a lot of work in the last number of weeks, and will be looking to get their championship campaign off to a good start. DJ Foran is in good form going into this game and will look to show the form he has shown in recent Waterford games into this game. But they will be looking to more than him to step up to the mark, and in the likes of Frank Galvin, John Hartley, Paul Power, Blake O’Connor and Michael Donnelly they have some good players.

They have a rough opening game however against Roanmore, a game that happens to be the first of the championship.

The city side have made great strides in the last number of years, after a number of years where they were hanging in there each year. They have made the quarter finals in the last few years and will look to maybe go a step further this year.

Gavin O’Brien and Billy Nolan are going to be key to the Sky Blues this year. Many regard the latter as one of the best goalkeepers in the country but he lines out in attack with his club which shows his versatility. Eoin Madigan and Daniel Murphy are also players that are key to the city sides hopes this year.

A good start for both sides is absolute vital for both sides but it’s hard to see the more experienced Roanmore side not winning here.

In the last game of the weekend, Ballyduff Upper and De La Salle do battle.

Ballyduff Upper this year are under the guidance of Michael Walsh and are going great guns in the games that they have played to date.

Last year they found the tough going and will be hoping for a better year this time round. They will be hoping that Cian Leamy can make a return this year after a year out last year due to injury and will also be looking to the likes of the Hannon’s, Casey’s, Eoin Scanlon and Kearney’s with Mikey in particular vital for them.

De La Salle have Owen Dunphy back at the helm this year. They have not won the title since 2012 which has shocked a number of people. Maybe in the eyes of some they were the cause of this themselves, publically displaying the famous 3.3.1 on the back of their shirts before what it was meant to signify had taken place.

Jake Dillon and Kevin Moran are going to be vital for them this year but so too will the likes of Shane McNulty, Stephen Daniels and Michael Doherty etc. and they should be good enough to start here with a win.

 

This weekend’s fixtures:

Roanmore V Portlaw on Saturday at 2pm in Walsh Park

Lismore V Passage on Saturday at 6pm in Fraher Field

Mount Sion V Fourmilewater on Saturday at 7-30pm in Fraher Field

De La Salle V Ballyduff Upper on Sunday at 2pm in Fraher Field

Tallow V Ballygunner on Sunday at 3-30pm in Fraher Field

Dungarvan V Abbeyside on Sunday at 7pm in Fraher Field

Could a Ten Team Division One National Hurling League Work

In previewing Waterford’s National Hurling League Quarter Final game with Galway I said that I felt that one team from Division One ‘B’ was going to make the semi-final stages of this year’s competition.

Results from recent years suggested that the four teams from Division ‘A’ in the quarter finals suggested that at least one Division One ‘B’ team would reach the last four.

The last two winners of the competition, Waterford in 2015 and Clare twelve months later won the competition after winning Division One ‘B’ so Wexford should have felt confident going into their game with Kilkenny, and of course they also had the famous ‘Davy Bounce’ going for them.

The last two winners Waterford and Clare were also the side that were relegated from Division One ‘A’ twelve months earlier, so Galway must have gone into their game against Waterford, a side that showed no fewer than nine changes to the side that had beaten Clare a week earlier.

I will be honest here and admit, the side that I saw advancing to the semi-finals from Division One ‘B’ was Limerick, a side that I think are to be looked out for in the coming years, as they were playing a Cork side who have played very hot and cold in recent years.

I might have talked Waterford down a little on Saturday when previewing their game, but despite all the changes I was somewhat confident that Waterford would have advanced to the semi-finals as I believe that Waterford do have strength in reserve, and if anything went wrong on Sunday with Waterford it was sending in the established players as the game was drawing to a close, as the players that had come in in their place were doing well and those coming in might have had needed time to get going.

After the game I asked a question on my thomaskeane1973 Facebook and Twitter pages.

It was a simple question, should we have one Division One Hurling League with eight or ten teams  instead of the current twelve team Division One league split between Division’s One ‘A’ and Division One ‘B’.

My reason for asking was simple. On a given day during the league nothing separated the six teams that played in Division One ‘A’ as could be seen going into the last round of games as only Tipperary knew what they would be playing for this past weekend, and as we saw in Division One ‘B’ of the top three sides there is little between them and the six sides in Division One ‘A’.

To have nine teams in a one group would have its pros and cons. To have an odd number would allow teams to have one bye during nine rounds of games, something they might welcome, but it could also make it difficult to have even numbers competing in the other divisions, so have included Offaly in a possible ten team group. After all, they earned the right to be there having reached the last eight of this year’s competition, something Dublin and Clare did not achieve despite playing in a group higher.

Some might suggest having one big group might cause other problems. Questions might be asked, what about the damage it will do the Club Championships to have such a big group. The question might be asked where the extra time be found for the playing of the games.

If we think about it, little or no extra time might be needed.

The final could still be played the first Sunday in May. With the extra four games in the league, there would be no need for quarter finals as sides would be well catered for games wise.

Time is available to give the week after semi-finals and finals a free week, and another free week could also be given between round nine and the semi-finals. A free weekend would also be given at the end of February or early March for the playing of the Fitzgibbon Cup.

Along the way there would be plenty of local derby games for each county so surely a ten team division would generate interest amongst supporters.

So how could a ten team Division One work out in 2018.

·         Each team would play each other once.

·         The top four teams would play the semi-finals

·         The team that finish tenth would be relegated and replaced by the Division Two winner.

·         The breaks between rounds nine and the semi-finals and between the semi-finals and final could be dropped to allow for a two week later start in the hope of better ground.

Round One	W/E 4 February	Limerick	V	Kilkenny
		Tipperary	V	Clare
		Dublin	V	Galway
		Cork	V	Offaly
		Waterford	V	Wexford
Round Two	W/E 11 February	Clare	V	Limerick
		Galway	V	Kilkenny
		Offaly	V	Tipperary
		Wexford	V	Dublin
		Waterford	V	Cork
Round 3	W/E 18 February	Limerick	V	Galway
		Clare	V	Offaly
		Kilkenny	V	Wexford
		Tipperary	V	Waterford
		Dublin	V	Cork
Round 4	W/E 4 March	Offaly	V	Limerick
		Wexford	V	Galway
		Waterford	V	Clare
		Cork	V	Kilkenny
		Dublin	V	Tipperary
Round 5	W/E 11 March	Limerick	V	Wexford
		Offaly	V	Waterford
		Galway	V	Cork
		Clare	V	Dublin
		Kilkenny	V	Tipperary
Round 6	W/E 18 March	Waterford	V	Limerick
		Cork	V	Wexford
		Dublin	V	Offaly
		Tipperary	V	Galway
		Kilkenny	V	Clare
Round 7	W/E 25 March	Limerick	V	Cork
		Waterford	V	Dublin
		Wexford	V	Tipperary
		Offaly	V	Kilkenny
		Galway	V	Clare
Round 8	W/E 1 April	Dublin	V	Limerick
		Tipperary	V	Cork
		Kilkenny	V	Waterford
		Clare	V	Wexford
		Galway	V	Offaly
Round 9	W/E 8 April	Limerick	V	Tipperary
		Dublin	V	Kilkenny
		Cork	V	Clare
		Waterford	V	Galway
		Wexford	V	Offaly
Semi-Finals	W/E 22 April	Top Team	V	Fourth Team
		Second Team	V	Third Team
Final	6 May	Semi Final Winner	V	Semi Final Winner

People say if a thing is not broken, then don’t try and fix it. The current league format is not broken, but maybe could be improved on. I must also say that I cannot see County Board’s nor Croke Park officials going for a one group of ten in the National hurling league.